


What Comes Around  - A Sateda Redux

by LdyAnne



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Episode Related, Episode: s03e04 Sateda, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-05
Updated: 2011-11-05
Packaged: 2017-10-25 17:29:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/272910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LdyAnne/pseuds/LdyAnne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They had rescued Ronon from Sateda, but the Wraith weren't going to let him go that easily.  Written for the sga gen ficathon on LJ.  The prompt was Deja Vu</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Comes Around  - A Sateda Redux

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for the episode Sateda, and possibly anything through Season three

Rodney McKay was a genius. It was an incontestable fact. He'd tested at a genius level from a very early age. Because of his genius he'd saved the lives of everyone on Atlantis a dozen times over. And yet, at the moment, he felt like a complete idiot. A soon to be dead idiot, so no one would ever know how stupid he had been, but Rodney knew.

There was no way to way to evade the Wraith missile headed their way. Rodney tried, he really did.

He did his best. His fingers flew over the jumper controls, but he wasn't John Sheppard. Not that he thought Sheppard would be able to avoid the shot headed straight for them, but John might have anticipated that the Wraith would take that shot. Even though the jumper was now cloaked, Ronon still had the tracking device in his back; they might as well have a bulls-eye painted on the hull.

"You guys grab something back there," he had time to scream. Then the blast struck.

The cloak was the only thing that saved them. The Wraith couldn't see the jumper to actually target a specific system, so they had just taken a random shot at the target provided by Ronon's tracker. It was just a glancing blow. A glancing blow that took out their inertial dampeners, among other things.

It whirled the little craft around. Rodney held on tightly, struggling to keep the ship under control. He could hear shouts of surprise and pain from the passenger area. He tried to not think about the fragile human bodies being tossed around back there like eggs in a carton.

The ship fell back towards the planet they had just left. Red lights were coming up all over the HUD. Rodney kept trying, because he couldn't _not_ try, but he didn't hold out much hope of bringing the jumper down intact. The planet was coming up fast, too fast. He had to slow it down if they had any hope of surviving the landing. His fingers danced across the controls.

And still the planet grew larger in his sights. They were close enough now that he could see land masses intersected by ribbons of blue. From this far up, where he couldn't see the devastation wrought by the Wraith, the planet was beautiful.

Rodney worked at pulling power from other systems to reroute what he could to the damaged systems.

Still the jumper fell. They were in the planet's atmosphere. Now Rodney could see the ruined countryside spread out below him.

He didn't have enough control left to choose a landing sight. They were going to land where ever the jumper hit, Rodney just tried to slow them down enough that they wouldn't end up as a smear on the landscape.

When the land and the darkness rose up to meet him, Rodney still didn't know if he had been successful.

~~~~~~

Carson woke up face down on the floor of the jumper. He pushed himself up, groggy and disoriented, not sure what had happened. One minute he'd been preparing to take the Wraith tracking device out of Ronon. The next... He was waking up on the floor of the jumper.

The lights in the back of the jumper were out, but there was sunlight coming through the open bulkhead door into the cockpit. It was enough light to see that Ronon was still unconscious next to him. He couldn't hear anyone else, so Carson assumed he was the only one awake and aware.

He pushed himself to his feet assessing his own condition. He was bruised, but there was nothing broken or seriously amiss. He swung around to see that Teyla was crumpled into a heap next to him – half on and half off the seat. She looked like she was clinging to the cargo netting on the wall, so she might not have been tossed around too badly. Carson spied the colonel in the back of the jumper, crumpled into a heap. Oh, hell.

Carson stumbled over to Sheppard, only pausing long enough to check Ronon and Teyla's vitals. They were both breathing, their pulses good. A little more assured he made his way to the colonel, where things were definitely not good. His questing fingers found Sheppard's pulse, it was slower than Carson liked and his body was sprawled up against the bulkhead, his arms and legs askew. With careful hands, Carson straightened Sheppard's limbs, fingers skimming across his limbs searching for injuries.

"Carson?" Teyla's slurred voice alerted him to the fact that he was not the only one conscious anymore. He was relieved that someone more experienced in dealing with these situations was awake.

"Don't move, love," he scolded her as she pushed herself to her feet.

She shook her head slowly. "I am well," she assured him. She surveyed the jumper, taking in the unconscious bodies of Ronon and Sheppard, the equipment that hadn't been secured had been tossed around with them. Boxes had burst and their contents were scattered, too. It reminded Carson of the aftermath of a particularly viscous storm. "What happened?"

Carson shook his head, "We crashed." He shrugged, wincing as his own aches and pains made themselves known. "I don't know. Can you sit here with the colonel so I can check on Ronon and see to Rodney? I've not heard a thing from him."

She knelt down next to Sheppard smiling a little, trying to reassure him, "That is worrying," she agreed.

Carson did a quick check of Teyla before moving away, but found that she was telling the truth. Beyond a few bruises she appeared to be fine. Although he did reserve the right to do a more thorough exam after he checked on his other patients.

He looked down at the unconscious colonel. "If he wakes up, don't let him move," he told her. She nodded, her eyes wide.

Ronon's continued unconsciousness worried Carson a bit, but considering the many injuries he had already sustained, it wasn't surprising. His pulse was still strong so Carson decided he could leave Ronon for the moment and check on Rodney.

He picked his way through their supplies to make it to the cockpit. Through the network of fine cracks spread over the surface of the windshield, he could see the ruins of Sateda. He ignored it at the sight of Rodney sprawled over the console in front of him.

Carson hurried to him, his fingers finding a steady reassuring pulse almost immediately.

~~~~~

"Wha?" Rodney mumbled incoherently. He batted at the intrusive fingers that were probing at him.

"Do na try to move," Carson scolded him.

Rodney sat bolt upright, unheeding of Carson's clucking. "Oh, shit," he breathed.

"What?" Carson asked, alarmed. He continued his efforts to check Rodney for injury. "What's wrong? Where are ye hurt?"

"Not me," Rodney snarled, pushing Carson away as he scrambled from his seat. "Ronon. He still has the Wraith tracking device in his back."

Rodney swayed once he was fully upright, the world rotating around him. Carson steadied him with a hand on his elbow. As the world steadied, Rodney assessed his condition. His head hurt, but otherwise he thought he was fine, which was a minor miracle. The most miraculous thing of all was that they were down in one piece. He wasn't even sure how that had happened.

But they were still a target. Their cloak was down and Ronon still had the tracker in his back. They were all so dead.

Carson's eyes widened as he followed the track of Rodney's logic. "And the Wraith?"

"They're the ones who shot us down," Rodney said impatiently. He made his unsteady way to the back of the jumper. He paused with one hand on the bulkhead frame, clutching it like it was the only thing holding him up when he saw the scene before him.

"Oh, god," he breathed out.

~~~~~

The moment he regained consciousness, Ronon's senses were on full alert. He'd survived for seven years running from the Wraith, they hadn't been dulled by his time living among the Lanteans, and those senses told him that something was wrong. Very wrong.

He remembered being taken by the Wraith, being left on Sateda, being hunted again.

Now...

He had been rescued, he remembered that. That had surprised him. Not that he didn't think Sheppard would come for him if he could, he'd seen that Sheppard didn't leave his people behind. But Ronon wasn't Lantean. He didn't know if Sheppard's 'leave no one behind' philosophy would apply to him. And he really didn't think they'd be able to find him. Once he was taken through the gate, he'd pretty much figured that he'd never see the Lanteans or his team again. He should have known that McKay would figure it out, the man was annoying as hell, but he was smart.

Now he knew. He had a home and a family again. And he would do whatever he had to in order to protect them.

He pushed himself up, feeling the pull in his injuries. He realized with dread that he still had the tracking device still in his back. He was back on Sateda, of that he was certain, and the tracker was leading the Wraith right to him. Again. This time they would get Ronon's team, too.

He was surprised to find that most of his team had regained consciousness before him. It kind of pissed him off that his body had betrayed him like that. It was his self-appointed responsibility to keep his team safe. He should have woken up first and gotten out of the jumper before he led the Wraith straight to their position.

Teyla was sitting next to Sheppard, stroking his hair back out of his face. Ronon didn't need to say anything to her. She just nodded at him. She knew what he had to do.

McKay and the doc were standing in the doorway to the front of the jumper. They both looked like they were going to fall down at any moment.

"I need to get out," he barked.

McKay's face was already white, but it went even whiter. Even so, his chin went up. "Don't be in such a hurry. Let Carson take the tracker out first."

"McKay," Ronon growled.

"I know, I know. The Wraith are probably headed here right now. The longer you're here, the more danger we're all in. But if Carson removes the device, then you can take it somewhere else, somewhere far away and leave it there. Then you can come back to us. And we can leave. Together." McKay's chin jutted out in that way he had that said he was right and wouldn't be budged.

He should go, now. Ronon's instincts were screaming at him that if the Wraith weren't there already, they'd be there soon. Sometimes they liked to play cat and mouse with their prey, give them a little time to think of all the ways they were screwed. Even if that was what they were doing now, it wouldn't buy his team much time. But McKay was right. If he could leave the tracker somewhere, it might confuse the Wraith. They really might be able to get away. It was the best plan they had at the moment.

Teyla nodded encouragingly. "It is worth the risk," she said.

Ronon pulled his shirt off over his head. "Alright," he said gruffly, "But do it quick."

Carson snapped into action. "Rodney, find my kit. Teyla, love, can you stay with the colonel?"

Ronon sat, mentally preparing himself for what was coming. He'd endured this before, he could do it again. "No drugs," he said simply.

~~~~~

Teyla watched from her place at the colonel's side as Carson opened the kit Rodney brought to him. He laid out the things he would need neatly.

"Rodney, I'm going to need you to assist me," he began.

Rodney backed away, hands raised, eyes wide, "Oh, no, no, no, no," he stuttered. "I don't do biology, it's too messy."

Carson blew out a breath in frustration. "Alright then, you go sit with the colonel and let Teyla assist me."

Rodney shook his head, "I need to be up front, trying to get power back, get us cloaked again in case the Wraith show up." He didn't wait for Carson to answer; he turned and headed toward the front of the jumper.

"No, Rodney, I need you back here right now," the doctor snapped at Rodney's retreating back. His voice was hard and commanding, in charge.

Rodney turned back, gaping at his friend. "Carson," he started, his hands flew out, a gesture that seemed to indicate their helplessness and the dead jumper. "I need to be doing something."

Rodney did not take sitting and doing nothing well. But then none of them did really.

Carson's voice gentled. "I know that, Rodney. But right now, I need Teyla to assist me. So I need you to stay with the colonel. If he wakes up, don't let him move. If he has trouble breathing, or any other distress, you need to let me know immediately."

The silence weighed in upon them as they all took in Carson's words. It would seem that the colonel's condition was very serious indeed.

Carson's next words confirmed that suspicion, "He could have spinal injuries. If we're not very careful, he might never walk again."

"If we get home alive at all," Rodney muttered. He didn't argue again though. He scurried over to take Teyla's place. She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder as she moved to Carson's side.

The doctor picked up a scalpel and began. Ronon didn't wince or flinch or give any sign that there was major surgery being performed on his back.

"Teyla," Ronon said, even as the doctor was making the first incision on his back, "you guys need to move once I'm gone. The Wraith have these coordinates now, they'll be here first to check it out, even if they see my tracker moving."

She shook her head, "I am coming with you. You are injured and you will need someone with you."

Ronon growled softly, "No, I don't. I'm the reason you're all here. Let me take care of this."

Teyla knelt next to him so that she could look into his eyes. "The Wraith are the reason we are here," she told him firmly. She couldn't tell if he was hearing her though. His eyes slid away from hers. She gripped his arm , she didn't shake it as she wanted to because of what the doctor was doing, but she held on tightly. "We do not leave our people behind, Ronon. Now I am going with you and that is all."

"No, I'm going with him," Rodney announced. He had his fingers pressed on Sheppard's throat on the pulse point there. "Sheppard's not going to be any good if the Wraith show up," he explained quickly, as if to deny them the chance to tell him no. "Teyla's going to be better at defending him and Carson than I would be, I can hardly shoot straight and Carson's afraid of guns. I can help Ronon get rid of the tracker and then I can use the life signs detector to help us find our way back to you guys."

"Don't need a life signs detector," Ronon asserted, but he didn't tell McKay no.

When Ronon had joined their team, there had been a rivalry between Rodney and Ronon. Teyla had despaired of them ever coming to terms together. They argued over things as simple as pudding cups in the mess hall and as complex as how to rescue Sheppard when he was caught in the time dilation field. But somewhere along the way, there began to be a thawing of their relationship.

Perhaps Ronon realized that Rodney was not as loud and cowardly as he seemed to be – they had all seen the scientist risk his own life for his team and his city many times and Rodney had seen that Ronon was more than just a big dumb barbarian, that he had intelligence and determination to offer to them as well as his strength. Or maybe they just bonded over the pudding cups. Whatever the case, Teyla was glad to see that they were becoming friends.

She nodded at Rodney, "It is a good plan, you are right."

"Of course I'm right," Rodney asserted stubbornly, readying himself for a fight. Then, when he realized that she was agreeing with him, "I mean, of course I'm right. I'm right?"

"Yes. I am a better shot. You have a stronger shoulder. I think Ronon will have need of it." She checked the doctor's progress, handing him a sponge to mop away the blood.

Ronon nodded, grunting a little as the doctor sliced deeper into his back. Teyla could feel the muscles under her hand tense as he tried to not move away from the pain. "But first you need to stay here. Help Teyla and the doc move Sheppard to a safer place." He pressed his lips together then, whether in pain or guilt, Teyla could not say.

"Yeah, yeah," Rodney didn't seem to notice Ronon's difficulty, or perhaps he did and he was trying to distract the rest of them from it. "I can use the tracker to find you. This might work. Except..." Rodney's face fell.

"What?" Ronon gritted out from between clenched teeth. "And no talk of death and dying."

"I'm doing my best," Rodney protested. "But how are we going to get off this planet with the Wraith searching for us?"

"Can ye not fix the jumper?" Carson asked. He did not even look up to ask his question. He continued to work, intent on his patient.

"I don't know if you noticed, Carson, but we crashed. The jumper is dead and there's nothing we can do about it." Rodney informed him, his tone biting.

"We're still alive, Rodney, that's what's important right now." The colonel's voice was weak, but Teyla felt better just hearing it.

"Do not move, lad," Carson cautioned, pausing briefly to glance over at the colonel. Ronon growled softly and Carson bent back to what he was doing.

Of course the colonel didn't listen, as Teyla knew he would not. It was not in John Sheppard's nature to do nothing while his people were in danger. He tried to push himself up, then fall back. It was only Rodney at his side who prevented further injury by catching the colonel as he fell backwards. He was gentler than Teyla had ever seen him as he slowly lowered John back to the floor.

"What did I tell you?" Carson scolded gently. "Stay still. I'll be over there as soon as I'm done with Ronon.

Even Rodney could see the panic on John's face when he realized that something was terribly wrong. He jumped in, starting on one of his rants, hoping to deflect the colonel's attention from his condition.

"Yeah, we may be down in one piece, but the jumper's FUBAR, there's no power and she'll won't be flying any time soon," Rodney informed Sheppard.

"We're alive." Even as weak as it was, the colonel's voice had a tone of command that rode over Rodney's flailing protests. "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one," his voice faltered, fading out.

"So I landed. What good does that do us? Even if I could get power for the cloak," he held up a hand to deflect the possibility and added hastily, "which it's unlikely that I can do anyway, we can't fly out of here to meet the Daedalus. The jumper is no condition to withstand space travel. We are so much Wraith kibble," he declared in his most fatalistic way.

"Don't need the Daedalus," Ronon announced. Teyla could see a tiny smile lurking on his lips.

"What?" Rodney and Sheppard asked in chorus.

"We tried to dial Sateda's gate, we couldn't get a lock. We figured it was destroyed by the Wraith or something," Rodney said.

"Partly right," Ronon winced.

"Almost done," Carson murmured.

"What does that mean, partly right?" Rodney demanded.

Teyla almost smiled. He still had his fingers on Sheppard's neck, there was blood dripping down one side of his face from a small cut on his temple, he had a black eye and one whole side of his face was swelling from its impact with the control console, but he managed to look belligerent and argumentative. It almost made her feel like things were going to be alright.

"Wraith took out the master crystal so I couldn't get off the planet, that's why you couldn't dial in. We can use the jumper's DHD to dial out, can't we?" He said it like it was a sure thing.

Rodney frowned at Ronon, rolling his eyes in his how-are-you-so-stupid way. "That's why you should leave the genius plans to the genius. No, we can't use the jumper's DHD to dial out because if you'd been paying attention you would have heard that..." his voice trailed off. He got the far off look that meant he was thinking very very fast. Teyla was always amazed when this happened. It usually meant they were all saved. She had been surprised how quickly she had come to depend on it. He snapped his fingers and smirked at them as if he had single-handedly saved the day.

"But if it's not damaged, and that's a big if, I have to tell you, I can take the crystal from the jumper's DHD, install it in Sateda's DHD and we should be able to dial out." He smiled triumphantly waiting for them all to tell him what a genius he was.

Teyla smiled approvingly. "That is very clever, Dr. McKay. I knew you would think of something."

Rodney smiled at her. She could see the fear and worry in his eyes.

"Got it," Carson declared. He pulled the tracking device out of Ronon's back. It made Teyla's stomach twist, just looking at it. It filled her with horror that even now the Wraith could use it to find them. She didn't know why they weren't. She strained her senses trying to sense them but there was still nothing.

She held out a specimen jar. Carson dropped in the tracker and she closed it. He began to quickly clean up Ronon's wound.

"Oh, sure," Rodney snarked, picking up the conversation. "Put all the responsibility for saving us on me, as usual."

"You are pretty good at it," Sheppard murmured. "You can do it, right?" Sheppard's voice might have wobbled a little in the end.

Rodney opened his mouth immediately to object, but then he shut it. "Okay," he said finally, "I might be able to fix it, if our crystal is still intact." He held up a finger, "But don't get your hopes up, there's so many ways this could go sideways."

"Just give us a chance, that's all we need," the colonel assured him.

Despite the situation, it _was_ all they needed. Teyla had seen them get out of worse situations with less. She allowed herself to hope.

That's when she felt it.

"The Wraith are coming," she said simply.

Carson swore, but he smoothed a bandage over Ronon's back. "Alright lad, you're good to go."

Ronon stood, rocking on unsteady legs for a moment. "McKay," he said.

Rodney didn't argue, he stretched to reach up from where he was sitting at the colonel's side to slap the release that lowered the jumper's hatch.

"Report in every twenty minutes," Sheppard ordered. She knew he must feel useless, unable to do anything to aid in their situation.

"If I can," Ronon responded. He moved to the hatch, until he was limned in sunlight.

"Be safe, lad," Carson called after him.

"Yeah," Ronon answered, his head ducked, his tone gruff. "You guys, too." Then he was gone.

~~~~~

More than his actual injuries, it hurt John that there was nothing he could do to assist his team except to lie back and let them do all the heavy lifting. Literally. Of course, his injuries didn't really hurt because he was numb from the waist down. Not really a good sign, John knew. But he couldn't spare much worry for that right now when what he needed to do was get his team home alive and in one piece. And in order to do that he needed to be able to get up and walk, move, shoot the Wraith that were even now flying overhead. Just do something.

They had been spotted by a Wraith dart. It was all Carson and Teyla could do to evade the culling beam burdened as they were with John's gurney. John had almost been tumped out on the ground more than once as they dodged to evade the beam.

"You guys should just leave me, come back for me after the Wraith are gone." John didn't hold out much hope that they'd go for it, but he had to try.

"Teyla, dear, we may need to stop in a minute. I might have to sedate the colonel because he sounds like he's becoming delirious." Carson huffed.

They moved closer in towards the protection of the buildings to escape the culling beam.

The Wraith dart was coming around for another run, strafing the street with shots. They ducked down trying to avoid the missiles as well as the debris flying through the air.

"I would concur, Doctor." Teyla leaned over John, protecting him with her body. She looked down into his eyes, frowning her displeasure at his idea. "We go together or not at all," she told him firmly. Yeah, he hadn't thought they'd go for the leaving-John-behind plan, but he had to try.

The dart had missed them on its first run, but it was circling, coming back for another try at them.

"Doctor," Teyla said, "stay here with the colonel."

Before anyone could say a word to stop her, Teyla stepped out into the path of the oncoming dart. She stood calmly in its path, waiting for it to be close enough for her shots to do any good.

"Teyla," John shouted, "what the hell are you doing? Get back over here. Doc, tell her to get back over here." He tried to push himself up determined to go drag her back to the dubious shelter of the buildings if he had to get there by pulling himself with his hands. It was an indication of just how weak he was that Carson was able to hold him down with just one hand.

The doctor shook his head, "I'm afraid she's not listening to me today." He took the opportunity provided to check John's vitals again. John didn't really think they could have changed much in the last five minutes. Except. Yeah, he was going to have a heart attack because Teyla was going to get herself killed for no damned good reason. Once the Wraith killed her, John and Carson would be next and she would be protecting no one.

The dart lined up with the street and began its run.

Teyla jerked her P-90 up and began firing.

Maybe the Wraith was just a really bad shot because it didn't even come close to Teyla. But Teyla _was_ a really good shot and several of hers connected. It was just that a P-90 wasn't much good against a Wraith dart; she might as well have been throwing rocks at it. There were a few trails of smoke from where her shots had hit it, but it wasn't going to be enough to bring down the dart.

The dart swung around again for another run. John knew this would be its final run.

Teyla stood defiantly, her weapon at the ready. She was practically daring the Wraith to come and get her.

Just as it began its run toward the three of them, a yellow streak shot down the street from the direction they had come, where the jumper lay dead in the water. Or so they had thought. The drone connected with the dart. It blew up in a spectacular explosion raining fiery debris down on them.

This time Carson leaned over John to protect him from the flaming wreckage.

Carson clicked his radio, "Rodney, was that you?" he asked.

 _"Why yes,"_ came Rodney's immediate answer. _"Unless you know of another jumper around here. And if you do, would you tell them that we need a ride, please?"_ Rodney was in fine form. Fear and certain death had that affect on him.

"Well, Rodney," Carson replied, his tone as even as ever, "when we left you, you said that the jumper was dead and you were trying to reroute enough power to cloak it before you joined us."

 _"I saw the dart on the jumper's systems and I knew you guys would need help..."_

"Thanks for that, by the way," John called hoping Carson's radio would pick him up.

 _"You're welcome,"_ Rodney answered. _"To make a long story short, I was able to reroute the power I was hoping to use for the cloak into the weapons systems, sending out a drone, thus saving your sorry asses."_ There was relief in Rodney's voice. _"You guys are okay, aren't you?"_

"Yes, Rodney, we are fine. Teyla is scouting ahead to find us a suitable place to hold out. The colonel and I are just sitting here enjoying the balmy Satedan day."

There was nothing but destruction around them. If he squinted, John could almost see the city as it had once been – alive and thriving with Ronon and his people happy here. Now the buildings were crumbling and there was a pall of grey smoke that hung over the city years after its destruction. John understood Ronon's rage and his need for vengeance against the Wraith who had taken everything he loved from him.

 _"I think I can still get the cloak up,_ Rodney said. _Maybe the Wraith won't blow the jumper up if they can't see it. McKay out."_

"Where did Teyla go?" John asked anxiously.

He didn't like having any of his team out of his sight. He knew they all had their own jobs to do and normally he was okay with that. But the fact that he couldn't move at all was freaking him out. He needed his team near him where he could see that they were alive and safe.

"She's just gone ahead to see if she can find us someplace safe to wait for Ronon and Rodney, Colonel. You need to calm down before I really do have to sedate you."

"No drugs," John asserted stubbornly. Drugs made him feel disconnected from his body. The fact that he couldn't feel anything in half his body would just make it that much worse.

"I don't really want to give you anything out here, Colonel, without the proper equipment to monitor ye. But you've got to stay calm."

John took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "Doc, you know I can't feel anything below the waist, right?"

Carson regarded John, his eyes compassionate. He nodded. "I did suspect. You've been entirely too cooperative. I will nae lie to you. This is very serious, but it could be that you're bruised and that once you've had time to recuperate you could recover just fine."

John wanted to grab onto that hope, but he was trying to be realistic, "And what are the chances of that?" he whispered.

"Pretty small actually." Carson patted his arm. "But you have pretty good luck usually, so I'd say the odds are in your favor. " A flurry of rocks fell down around them causing Carson to hover over John's body again. "If we get out of this situation that is," he added ruefully.

They really didn't have time for John to have the freak out he could feel hovering. It would have to wait until his team was safe. But he promised himself he would be having one once they were all safely back on Atlantis.

John nodded, "Okay."

Teyla appeared at their side, sliding gracefully to her knees at John's side. "I have found us a place up ahead. The building is not too badly damaged. It's at the end of the block so we shall be able to see the Wraith as they approach from several directions. We should be able to hold out there for awhile if we need to."

She picked up one end of John's gurney and they were moving again. John closed his eyes against the jerking movement of the gurney. He'd never been a religious person, but he said a little prayer that Ronon and Rodney were safe just in case someone was listening.

~~~~~

Ronon couldn't believe that he was here again – in Sateda and running. He'd really thought he was dead before, he had just been determined to take as many Wraith with him as he could. Now he was still on Sateda, still running. The difference this time was that he wasn't running just for his own life. The life of his friends and new family were at risk this time, too.

Every step was a fresh agony, sending pain shooting through his body. Pain and Ronon were old friends. In seven years of running, pain had been his only companion. It was the only thing that kept him aware some days as he gated from world to world. Pain was what told him he was still alive most days.

Ronon used the pain to distract himself from the burnt out shell of his city. Every place he passed had a memory or a face attached to it...

There was the little café where he used to take Melena when they had the time between her hospital duties and his service. Those had been sweet times, just sitting together sharing a simple meal, the two of them. They would talk of their lives together, their hopes for the future. Melena had the sweetest laugh. Ronon would tell her stories of something one of his comrades had done just to hear that laugh. She would tell him stories of her duties as a healer. It was a good time for them before the Wraith came and took it all away.

The apartment where they lived was a few streets over; he could go there if he wanted. See if there was some... thing of hers that he might have, that he could keep with him. But Ronon had never been one for things, and seven years on the run had burned away any need for anything but the necessities – a good sharp knife and a weapon to defend himself with, that's all he needed to carry with him. Anything more would just weigh him down enough that the Wraith could catch him. He had Melena in his heart and that was all he needed.

He barely broke stride when he heard the dart fly overhead. He knew what was going to happen next. It might be now, ten minutes from now or an hour. But it would happen. The Wraith would come for him. They would try to take him. And they would fail. He wasn't running just for himself anymore. There were four other lives depending on him, and he wasn't going to let them down. This time he was running to save the lives of his friends, and there was no way he was stopping - no matter how tired he was, or how much he was hurting.

~~~~~~

Rodney picked his way through the rubble of the street, going slower than he liked because, hello, he didn't want to break an ankle. Sheppard being down was one injury too many. He didn't like leaving Sheppard, but the colonel had both Carson and Teyla to look after him, he would be fine. At least that's what Rodney told himself so he could keep going forward.

He looked down at the computer work pad he clutched tightly, the beep that was Ronon's tracking device had stopped. It worried Rodney that maybe Ronon had succumbed to his injuries. He'd looked pretty bad when he'd left the jumper, but they hadn't had any other choice. If Ronon had stayed, even if they destroyed the tracker, the Wraith had their last known position. It was the only smart decision that Ronon take the thing far away and dispose of it. But now Ronon and the tracker had stopped. And anything could have happened to him.

Maybe he'd just stopped to rest.

However, having been on a few missions now with the man, Rodney thought that possibility highly unlikely. Ronon didn't seem to know the meaning of the word stop. No matter how many times a request was politely phrased, Ronon never stopped. Even Sheppard could be persuaded occasionally to take a break. But not Ronon, no the Neanderthal always thought they should push on.

Rodney kept going, urgency making him go faster. He kept a nervous eye on the sky, certain that a dart was going to appear overhead at any moment. He'd left the jumper without a life signs detector, and now he lamented that fact, he didn't know if he was the only one tracking Ronon. For all he knew there could be a dozen Wraith around and he'd never know it until he was lunch. At least he was getting closer to Ronon. If the pad was correct, Ronon was just ahead.

Rodney turned a corner to find more ruined buildings and yet another street strewn with rubble.

He wondered what Sateda had looked like before the Wraith attack. He wondered what Ronon had done for fun, who he had lost in the Wraith attack. Seeing the ruins of his world, Ronon became a real person for Rodney, someone who had had a life, a life that the Wraith had taken from him. Rodney swallowed hard at the thought that it could be Earth that looked like this if the Wraith had their way. He understood more than ever the reason for Ronon's rage and desire to wipe the Wraith from existence.

He glanced at his pad, and the tracker was still stationary. Rodney frowned. He was close. And yet there was still no sign of Ronon.

He took a few more steps in the direction indicated on his pad, and, if he was reading it correctly, he should be right next to Ronon. But there was no Ronon, just debris, boxes turned over in the middle of the street, a wall had been blown clean off a building, it lay on the ground, almost whole.

Rodney spotted something on one of the boxes. He moved closer with a frown. What he saw filled him with horror.

It was the specimen jar with the Wraith tracking device inside. It was still dripping with Ronon's blood. Which? Ewwww.

Rodney looked around frantically, scanning the street for Ronon's body, for any sign of Ronon. He couldn't believe that he'd left the life signs detector in the jumper. He'd just kind of assumed that he'd be able to follow Ronon using the Wraith tracker. Now he didn't have a clue where to go or what to do.

That's when he heard the dart. He didn't have time to do anything but turn and there was a Wraith behind him.

"You are not the human I am hunting," the Wraith stated.

"No shit, Sherlock," Rodney stammered out, backing up. His foot slipped on a brick. It shifted under his foot and he went down. Hard. He felt a stab of pain shoot through his ankle. Oh, fine, he knew he was going to twist an ankle. But that really wasn't the important thing at the moment. That would be the Wraith that was looking at him like he was the main course at the banquet.

"Where is he?" the Wraith growled, stalking towards Rodney slowly.

Rodney gulped and crab walked backwards, wincing as he dragged himself through glass and stones that cut his hands and dug into his hips.

"Can't say that I've seen him," he said defiantly. "But if I do, I'll tell him you're looking for him."

Rodney tried to push himself up, get his hands on his weapon, but the Wraith was too fast. He surged forward and leaned down to pull Rodney up.

He pulled Rodney in until Rodney's feet were no longer touching the ground.

"If you can not tell me where he is, then I have no use for you, except as food," the Wraith hissed.

Rodney was in the Wraith's face, close enough to smell the fetid breath, see the teeth. Rodney really hoped he didn't throw up. Although come to think of it, if he was going to be lunch, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to throw up all over the Wraith and maybe put him off his meal.

"I can tell you where he is." Rodney was never so glad to hear Ronon's voice ring out. From over the Wraith's s shoulder he could see Ronon step out from a pile of debris and broken wall, his weapon drawn. "Put him down," Ronon said.

"Or what?" the Wraith taunted. He turned so that Rodney's body was between him and Ronon. "You'll kill me?"

"No," Ronon took two steps forward quickly, "I'll just stun you." He brought his gun up and that was the last thing Rodney saw before the weapon went off.

He came back to consciousness to find himself draped over Ronon's shoulder. Although Ronon wasn't running, his pace was a solid lope and Rodney could feel the reverberation of every step in his stomach. From his vantage point, he could see that the back of Ronon's coat was spotted with blood.

"Put me down, you Neanderthal," he bit out, to let Ronon know that he was conscious. Ronon's stun weapon didn't leave the same kind of paralysis that the Wraith stunners did, thank god. They just left you with a headache and a bone-deep ache that took hours of rest and proper analgesics to dispel. Neither of which they had at the moment.

"You're awake," Ronon said as he carefully deposited Rodney on the ground. He clapped a hand on Rodney's shoulder to steady him when he swayed.

Rodney shook it off. "Yes, I'm awake, no thanks to you. You used your tracker to set a trap for the Wraith didn't you?" Rodney waited, hands on hips.

"You're welcome for saving your life by the way," Ronon rolled his eyes. "Yes, I set a trap for the Wraith. How do you think I survived for seven years?"

"Didn't you think that I might walk into that trap?" Rodney snapped. "You knew I was going to catch up with you."

Ronon turned. He walked away without even responding.

"Hey, don't you walk away from me," Rodney snapped.

"Kind of busy here," Ronon called back over his shoulder. "Gotta get rid of this tracking device."

"Don't you try and get out of this. You stunned me," Rodney hurried after him swearing loudly when his ankle protested. Ronon did have a point about the tracking device, he realized. They were now a target for any Wraith in the area. How had he thought this was a good idea?

~~~~~~

The ceiling of the building Teyla had chosen for them to take shelter in was lost in shadow. The windows were dirty and most of them were boarded up. They didn't let in much light so there wasn't anything to illuminate the shadows either. There were walkways up there, John could see them around the edge. There was one or two that traversed the width of the building bridging one side with another. He imagined he could see things moving up there. He was pretty sure it was only his imagination.

John's gurney had been set down against an inner wall. Teyla assured him that it was sturdy and would not fall on him unless struck by a Wraith blast. John couldn't tell if she was joking or not. He had an IV in his arm, and a stern warning from Beckett not to move. For once John tried to follow directions; it wasn't hard when he couldn't get his legs to do what he wanted them to do.

He hated remaining still while the rest of his team were putting their lives on the line.

Teyla and Carson were conferring across the room, out of earshot. They both turned and looked at him, Teyla shook her head. John closed his eyes, trying not to be pissed because they were keeping him out of the loop. There was no telling what kind of drugs Carson had in the IV and he was injured. They couldn't trust anything he said, but he still resented not being included in their conference.

He opened his eyes when he heard their footsteps approaching

"What's up, doc?" he asked doing his best to keep the resentment out of his tone.

"It's nice to see you haven't lost your sense of humor," Carson said, his tone dry. "How are you doing?"

"Just hanging out, enjoying the scenery," was John's response.

He wasn't going to tell them that he was afraid for Rodney and Ronon. He knew they could take care of themselves, but they'd missed the 20-minute check-in a couple of times now. Carson seemed fairly calm, but he wasn't a soldier. He was a civilian who thought that as long as no one was actively shooting at him, he was safe. John knew better. The hair on the back of his neck practically stood up from the sense of foreboding he had. He could nearly feel Teyla's tension as she extended her own senses trying to warn them of the approach of the Wraith before they appeared.,

"Have you heard anything from Ronon or Rodney?" he asked. Although his own radio was on and he would hear any report they made just like Carson and Teyla, he had to ask.

Teyla shook her head. "Another dart flew overhead," she confessed. "It was going in the direction that Rodney indicated Ronon had taken." John longed to tell her to go, to make sure they were okay, but he knew she would refuse. He didn't want to strain his fragile sense of command any more than he had to.

"Ronon can take care of himself." He paused and added, "So can Rodney," mostly to reassure himself.

"Of course they can," Teyla nodded her agreement with his assessment. "I am going to go check the perimeter, scout around the area and see if I can find anything that may be of use to us."

John envied her ability to go, to do. He nodded at her as she turned away. Carson was silent after she left. He did yet another check of John's condition.

"It's not changed any since the last time, Doc," John burst out finally, frustration welling up within him. "I still can't feel anything in my legs." He balled up a fist and hit his leg. He didn't feel a thing. "Doc, you've got to help me out here. My team's out there. I need to be up, doing something."

"Don't make me restrain you, Colonel," Carson said glaring down at John. "You must be very careful right now. If you're not careful, you could do yourself permanent harm."

"What good's it going to do being careful if my team ends up dead?" John had never felt more useless in his life.

"It's not going to come to that and you know it. We'll get out of this."

John stared up at Carson. "You know, you're even worse than Elizabeth at the bedside manner thing." He looked away, studying the sturdy wall next to him. It was cracked and pitted, the paint was flecking off in places. "I know what our situation is. It's even worse with me as dead weight, so don't try to sugar coat it for me."

Carson huffed out an impatient breath. John knew he was a difficult patient. But he couldn't help it. Lying around doing nothing was killing him. He breathed in and tried to calm himself. Getting his doctor pissed at him was going to get him nothing but sedated.

"Look, Doc, I'm sorry," John ground out. "This is just... frustrating."

"I'm sure it is, lad." Carson said. "But you have to understand that you are in a very precarious place. Any movement at all could leave you paralyzed for the rest of your life or dead."

"I get it, Doc, trust me," John answered him. He swallowed down the lump of fear in his throat that threatened to choke him. "I'll try to be good."

From the lift of Carson's eyebrow, John didn't think Carson really believed him. But it was the best he could do.

There was a burst of P-90 fire from outside.

"Teyla!" John shouted. He tried to push himself up. Carson held him down easily.

There was more P-90 fire and then an eerie silence.

"Please, doc, you've got to do something," John was frantic. Teyla shouldn't be out there by herself defending them against the Wraith.

"What do you want me to do?" Carson asked, willing, but having no clue what he needed to do.

"Here, take this." John shoved his own P-90 into Carson's hands. They'd taken it off his vest, but Rodney had laid it at his side on the gurney. "Go help her."

"What about you?" Carson looked toward the door, his body leaning in that direction.

John pulled his 9 mil from its holster. Thumbing off the safety he rested it on his chest.

"I'll be alright until you can get Teyla back in here." Another burst of gunfire rang out. "You've got to go now."

Carson clutched the P-90 to his chest. "Alright."

After he was gone, John pulled the IV out. He used the wall next to him and tried to push himself up. No way did he want to be flat on his back if the Wraith showed up. He wasn't very successful, mostly he felt like a fish flopping around out of the water.

He was caught completely unaware when one of the shadows from the ceiling launched itself down. The Wraith landed lightly on its feet, next to where Sheppard lay.

"What do we have here?" The Wraith practically salivated as it peered down at John, his head cocked curiously.

John had his weapon up and firing instantly. The Wraith jerked a little as each shot hit him. It went to one knee, but otherwise it was unaffected by the bullets. He waited until John was out of ammunition, the gun clicking uselessly.

"Shit!" John pushed himself up, he tried to move away. He rolled over, off the gurney. Using his elbows he tried to put as much space as possible between himself and the Wraith.

With only a couple of steps, the Wraith crossed the space between them. He reached down flipping John over.

John tried to wriggle away, but it was no good. The Wraith knelt next to him, putting one hand on his chest to hold him in place.

"You'd better go now," John tried to sound as imposing as possible. "I've got friends outside. Soon they'll be... inside. Then you'll be sorry."

The Wraith smiled. It was not a friendly smile. "We found your friend outside," the Wraith told him. "She was quite... delectable." The unpleasant smile grew wider.

Teyla? It wasn't possible. John just couldn't imagine Teyla as a withered husk, her hair white, her skin a mask of lines and wrinkles.

"No," he screamed. He hit at the Wraith as best he could with his fists, using the butt of the weapon to smash at the creature's face. It was no good. The Wraith caught one wrist and held it fast. Then he caught the other hand with the gun. The Wraith plucked the gun from him, tossing it aside. He was making that strange wind-up they did before they fed, pulling his feeding hand back as a prelude to plunging it into John's chest and sucking his life out when Carson ordered,

"Step away from him."

The Wraith paused, his hand still pulled back, looking back over his shoulder to where Carson stood.

The doctor's hands were shaking but at least the p-90 was pointed in the right direction.

The Wraith released John. He flopped back onto the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. "Another one," the Wraith practically purred. "I will feast today."

"Carson, don't talk to it, just shoot it," John shouted. Or maybe he just thought he did because Carson didn't shoot, didn't move, didn't do anything but stand and stare.

The Wraith stood, lifting John easily with him.

That at least sparked a response from Carson. He took a step forward; his breath was coming in huge gasps. "Put him down," Carson said.

The Wraith shook John like he was a puppy before tossing him away. John crashed into a stack of boxes. Pain exploded through him, darkness threatening to pull him under. John hung on, refusing to succumb to it.

The Wraith began to advance on Carson, "You will not shoot me, human," the Wraith's voice had a weird quality to it. John recognized it as the one used by the Wraith queens when they were trying to impel their victims to their will.

Carson faltered, the weapon dipping slowly as the Wraith advanced another step.

"Carson, don't listen to him, shoot him," John shouted. He spotted the gun where the Wraith had thrown it. It wasn't too far away, if he could just stretch himself far enough he could reach it. He reached out, it was just out of his reach... He stretched farther...

The Wraith threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, the human is not going to hurt me." He moved faster than humanly possible, casually backhanding Carson across the face. Carson flew across the room hitting the wall hard. He slid down it to lie in a heap.

"Carson," John gasped. "Carson." He had the gun in his fingertips. It scraped across the floor as John pulled it to him.

"And now for you," the Wraith whirled, his coat flowing dramatically around him. They did have a sense of the dramatic, John noted remotely.

Time slowed down for John. He fumbled in his vest for another clip.

The Wraith crossed the space between them moving with almost a feline grace, stalking its prey.

John found the clip where it was supposed to be. He jammed the clip home. He was not going to allow himself or Carson, or any of his team for that matter, to end up as dinner for some damn Wraith.

John sited and aimed. The Wraith's smile grew. He pulled the trigger emptying the new clip into the Wraith.

"You can not stop me, human," the Wraith told him.

"Maybe I can't," John snarled. "But she can."

Teyla pulled the trigger of her P-90. She fired on the Wraith from the doorway where she stood, almost cutting him in half. The Wraith dropped where it stood.

John dropped his gun from fingers gone suddenly nerveless. Teyla ran to him, turning him. Pain rippled through him, though she was as careful as she could be.

"Carson," he gasped out. Carson hadn't moved since the Wraith had tossed him away.

"Do not worry, I will take care of him," Gently Teyla straightened John's body. Once she had John situated to her own satisfaction, she moved across the room to Carson.

Knowing that Carson would yell at him, John pushed himself up on his elbows anyway. He grimaced at the pain, but he had to see for himself that Carson was alright.

Teyla knelt next to Carson. He was so still, John couldn't even see if he was breathing from the way that the doctor had fallen, crumpled in a heap.

Carson stirred at her gentle touch, blinking at the room around him.

"What happened?" When he saw the Wraith lying in a bloody puddle just a few feet from him, Carson flinched away. Then he saw John.

"Help me up, Teyla," he said urgently. He started to push himself up, but then he fell back to the ground with a soft curse.

"Carson, you are injured," she protested. She tried to encourage him to sit back and let her check him over. But he was having none of that.

"I'm fine, love," Carson insisted, pushing her hands away. At her skeptical stare, he said, "I am. I need to get to John now." He held a hand out to her expectantly.

She didn't want to, but she helped him up, supporting him the entire way. They moved swiftly to John.

"Colonel? How are you doing?" Carson peered down at him, worry plain upon his face.

His head pounded, and he could feel a sticky warmth flowing down his face. But Carson and Teyla were both okay. He counted that as a win in his book.

"I've had better days," John said wearily.

"Aye, I'm sure you have, lad. I'm sure you have." Carson was taking his damn vitals again.

"Teyla?" he tried to smile at her, to show her that he wasn't as bad as it looked. "How are you?"

"I am fine, John, let Carson take care of you."

John raised a brow, he didn't believe her. She had a bruise across one cheek and she had her right arm tucked in against her side. At least she was upright and moving. That was the best they could ask for.

"Thanks for the backup," he said.

Teyla inclined her head, "You are welcome."

John winced when Carson hit a tender spot. "Sorry you got knocked around, doc."

"Don't you worry about me," Carson smiled at him. It was a lot more reassuring than the Wraith's smile.

Teyla exchanged a look with Carson, and they were doing it again - leaving him out, dammit, without even saying a word.

"They are all dead now," she said. "But I am afraid that these will have told the others we are here. We must move. Now."

John agreed with her assessment. "What about..." he couldn't think anymore. His head was throbbing and breathing too deeply hurt. He tried desperately to gather his thoughts. "What if we go back to the jumper? Rodney said he got the cloak up again, so they won't be able to find us. We can hold out there until Rodney and Ronon get back." He watched Teyla's face trying to judge the soundness of his plan. He knew he wasn't at his best. On top of everything else, his head now hurt like a son-of-a-bitch.

She nodded, taking her time to carefully think over his plan before answering. "The Wraith will not think that we will return to someplace we have already been," she said thoughtfully. "I think it sounds like a good plan."

Carson rubbed his hands together, "It is a good idea," he nodded his agreement. "There are some supplies there I could nae bring with us, that I could sorely use right now. If that's decided then, Teyla love, help me get the colonel back on the gurney. John, don't try to move at all. Let us do all the work."

John did as instructed. He bit his lip trying to stifle his moans and cries of pain as they moved him. He was ready to be back in Atlantis now with his team all in one piece and alive.

~~~~~

They didn't get far before Rodney's ankle was too painful to be walked on.

"Okay, just leave me here," Rodney said doing his best to be noble and trying to decide what Sheppard would do.

"Don't be stupid," Ronon rolled his eyes. Privately Rodney thought Ronon was spending way too much time with the marines. He was beginning to sound like them. "I would never hear the end of it if I actually left you here."

"That's true, Sheppard would be pretty mad if you did that," Rodney nodded his agreement leaning hard against Ronon.

"Not Sheppard. You. I'd never hear the end of it from you. Come on." Ronon slid his arm around Rodney. It was kind of awkward because he was so tall, but they made it work. "We're almost to the place I'm going to leave the tracker. Then we can go to the hospital and I'll find you a crutch or something."

They limped along with Ronon taking most of Rodney's weight. They were on the outskirts of the city now. There was less destruction; the buildings were nearly intact, just showing signs of age and disuse. The road had traces of greenery on either side. Rodney could see trees ahead.

"Just out of curiosity," Rodney said, trying to take his mind off the stabbing pain of his ankle, "what are you going to do with the tracking device?"

Ronon gave him a sideways glance at that, like he didn't want to share his plan or something.

"What?" Rodney snapped. "Are you afraid I'm going to judge your plan?"

Ronon shrugged. It nearly threw Rodney off balance.

"Fine," Rodney snapped at him. Between the ankle and the Wraith and being stuck in the smoking, festering ruin of Sateda, his mood was thoroughly ruined. "Keep it to yourself. I don't want to know."

Ronon firmed up his grip around Rodney's waist. "Fine."

"Fine."

They walked in silence for a few minutes.

Finally Ronon broke. "We're taking it to the river."

"River? I don't think that will drown out the signal there, big guy; remember it was in your back, covered in blood and..."

"I'm going to float it down the river on a boat," Ronon interrupted his rant.

"A boat?" Did they have boats on Sateda? Evidently.

"Every year we had this celebration, back before the Wraith. We would feast and sing all day. We celebrated the passing of another year without the return of the Wraith. At day's end we would gather at the river. We would float little boats we'd made down the river." Rodney stared at him in amazement. This was the most that he had ever heard Ronon speak.

Ronon ignored Rodney as he continued with his story. "The boats contained our prayers to the Ancestors for peace, for a good harvest, that the Wraith would never return. Things like that." He shrugged. "No one knew where the river went, so we always thought the river flowed straight to the Ancestors, that they would get our prayers. I know it's probably stupid..." Ronon looked away uncomfortable at having revealed so much of himself.

Rodney shook him a little. "No, actually it's not stupid. I bet it was cool to see all those boats floating down the river at sunset."

Ronon flashed a grin at Rodney. He looked so young in that moment. Too young to have seen his world destroyed. Too young to have spent seven years running for his life. "It was. Everybody made their own boats. They were all sizes and shapes. I always carved a new one every year. Some people would go down river and try to retrieve the boats that went aground on the bank, but I never did. I always thought that the Ancestors got my prayers." Ronon's voice trailed off as he realized that they never did. The Ancestors were gone from the Pegasus Galaxy long before the Satedans began their tradition.

"It's a good plan, putting the tracking device on a boat and floating it down the river," Rodney said, thinking furiously. "It'll lead the Wraith away from us. It'll make them crazy that they can't find you. Hopefully it'll buy us some time before they figure it out."

Ronon grinned again, a quick flash of teeth. "That's what I was thinking, too. Come on, we're almost there."

Usually when Ronon said that, they still had a five-mile trek ahead of them, but this time he was as good as his word. They went around a curve in the road, and it was there in front of them. The river. Rodney remembered spotting it from the air. It had looked like a blue ribbon woven through the green and brown of the land. Now he could see that it was a wide, muddy river. It was moving fast, too. Ronon threw a stick into it; it was swept downstream, rapidly disappearing from their sight.

"This is going to work," Rodney declared. "Wait, do you have a boat?"

Ronon smirked at him. He pulled Rodney to the side of the road where there was an outcropping of rock.

"I used to come out here sometimes. Just to sit and watch the river go by and whittle," Ronon told him, like they had all the time in the world.

Rodney tapped his watch. "Do I need to remind you that we're on a time constraint here?" It was all well and good to reminisce and he was glad that Ronon had some happy memories, but was it really the time? "The Wraith are going to be on our tail again any minute."

Ronon shook his head. "You really need to slow down and enjoy things, McKay. You're going to have a heart attack someday."

Rodney had had this lecture way too many times from Carson, no way was he going to take it from Conan the Barbarian. "Oh, not you, too. I'll have you know that I'm a very calm person. It's not my fault that everyone around me..." he trailed off when Ronon pulled a stone away from the outcropping to reveal a hollow inside. He stuck his hand inside.

"No, wait," Rodney had time to gasp out, "you don't know what's inside there. There could be a poisonous snake... Oh."

Ronon held up a small carved wooden boat triumphantly. It wasn't much bigger than his hand. It was intricately carved with delicate lines and a graceful symmetry to it. He offered it to Rodney.

"Wow, this is beautiful, Ronon." He traced a finger over its hull. It was smooth, the wood buffed to remove any harsh edges or splinters. He balanced it in his hand, studying it carefully. "If it doesn't run into anything in the river or go aground, it should keep sailing pretty far."

Ronon nodded. His chest was puffed out, pleased at Rodney's praise. "That's what I thought, too." Taking the little boat he helped Rodney lean against the outcropping. Then he pulled the specimen jar out of his coat pocket. He placed it into the hull of the boat. It was deep enough the jar fit in it comfortably; there was little danger of the boat tipping and the jar falling out accidently.

With a few long strides Ronon was at the water's edge where he knelt. It looked to Rodney like he bowed his head briefly before he released the little craft into the water with a push.

It spun in place twice, then it caught the current and it was off, down the river. They stood and watched it – Ronon at the river's edge, Rodney from his vantage point at the outcropping of rock as it disappeared quickly from sight.

They heard the distinctive whine of the Wraith dart before they spotted it.

Ronon ran to Rodney, giving him an arm to lean on. They sprinted for the safety of the trees as quickly as they could with Ronon burdened by Rodney's weight. They made it without being spotted. They settled in to wait.

They weren't there long before four Wraith appeared on the road they'd just come down. One of them kept checking a device on his wrist.

"Is that how they tracked you?" Rodney asked, careful to keep his voice as low as possible.

Ronon didn't even bother answering; he just scowled at Rodney.

Rodney scowled right back at him.

Finally Ronon nodded.

"Thank you," Rodney breathed with a roll of his eyes to punctuate his sarcasm.

Ronon shoved his shoulder in a clear message to shut up.

Rodney watched, almost holding his breath as the Wraith passed by their hiding spot. They went straight to the water's edge. One Wraith pointed in the direction their boat had gone. They began to follow along the edge of the river.

Once they were out of sight, Rodney let out a relieved breath.

"I can't believe that worked."

Ronon stared at him, his eyes narrowed. "You said it would."

"Well, sure I said it would. I didn't have a better idea at the time."

Ronon glared at Rodney, but he offered him his arm anyway. They started back towards the city as fast as they could go.

~~~~~

Although they spotted another dart flying towards the river, they made it back to the jumper without further incident. Teyla ran out to meet them, gripping Ronon's arm tightly.

"I am glad to see that you are well," she said.

"Sheppard?" Rodney asked.

When they'd asked about him when they reported in, Carson had just said, "Hurry please."

Teyla shook her head. "It is not good. He was further injured in an encounter with the Wraith. Carson said we must get him back to Atlantis as soon as possible."

She led them into the cloaked jumper. Sheppard's gurney had been placed on one of the seats; he had two IVs hooked into the webbing over his head, the tubing snaking down and into the ports in his arms. He was wearing an oxygen mask and a small machine was sitting on the floor beside him making irregular beeps. Ronon didn't think it sounded quite right.

Carson greeted them with, "We've got to get him back to Atlantis now. How far is the gate?"

Ronon thought about the four of them carrying Sheppard on a gurney through the deepening Satedan twilight. It wasn't going to be long before the Wraith would see through the ruse he and McKay had perpetrated and then they'd have the Wraith on their trail again.

He shook his head. "Too far by foot." Ronon turned to look at McKay.

Rodney didn't even protest this time. "Help me to the front," he said. "Let me see what I can do."

Ronon helped him into the cockpit. He was going to stay and help, but Teyla insisted that he go back and let Carson see to his wounds.

Mostly Ronon didn't want to be in the back where he had to look at Sheppard's beaten body. The entire team was on Sateda because of him. It was his fault that Sheppard was injured and laying at death's door.

But when Teyla glared at you, you did what she said. He knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of her bantos rods. If he didn't do what she wanted, she'd make what the Wraith did to him look like a love tap.

He went back hesitantly, reluctant to pull the doctor away from Sheppard's side.

"He's resting for now," Carson said when Ronon appeared in the doorway. "Come and sit, let me take a look at you."

Ronon sat. "How's he doing?" He gestured at Sheppard.

Carson's face set in a grim line. "He's holding his own. He'll be fine if we can just get him home to Atlantis soon."

Carson's hands were gentle as he checked over Ronon. He clucked at the bruises. He checked the bandage on Ronon's back. When he found the wound on Ronon's leg where he had pulled the metal piece from it he stared at Ronon.

"How have you been walking on this?"

Ronon shrugged. "I had to, that's all," he answered gruffly. He didn't think Carson needed to know that I had happened before the team even arrived on Sateda.

"Is that Ronon?" Sheppard's voice surprised them both.

Carson moved over to him, although Ronon stayed where he was, uncertain how to face this man that he respected so much.

He hadn't really thought much of Sheppard when he first met him. Sheppard had just seemed too laid back to be a good commander. Then Sheppard had invited Ronon to join his team, to join their fight against the Wraith. Ronon had joined them, not because he thought Sheppard was a good leader, but because they seemed to have the resources to give the Wraith a hell of a fight. He was all for that.

Then he saw John Sheppard in action. He saw his intensity and his determination to make a difference in the Pegasus Galaxy. Ronon didn't hold it against the man because he woke up the Wraith. Anyone could have done that. But he did find much to respect in Sheppard's desire to fight back against the Wraith, to draw a line and protect everyone that he could. He respected Sheppard's creed of 'no man left behind.' Ronon had to leave too many people behind in his life; he had wanted to believe that someone would come get him.

He hadn't really believed they would, until they did.

"Ronon?" Sheppard whispered.

"Here," Ronon answered. He owed Sheppard much more than an answer. He owed him his life.

Sheppard's arm lifted in Ronon's direction, beckoning Ronon to him.

Ronon went, falling to his knees next to Sheppard.

Sheppard just stared at him. "You okay?" he asked finally.

Ronon ducked his head a little. "I'm fine," he said gruffly. "You look a little beat up."

"Killed a few more Wraith," Sheppard said. "It's always a good time. You gonna be okay?" Sheppard asked. Ronon knew he was asking about so much more than his physical injuries.

"Will be," he said. "Doc's taking care of me."

The answer must have been the right one. Sheppard nodded in satisfaction. His eyes closed and his head lolled to the side.

"Doc?" Ronon couldn't help the alarm in his voice.

"It's alright, he's just sleeping. Why don't you see if you can motivate Rodney to hurry?"

Ronon grinned at the thought. He nodded. "I can do that."

The jumper lit up around them before he could even rise.

Teyla appeared in the doorway between the passenger area and the cockpit. "Rodney says to hold on to something. This may be a rough ride."

The jumper lurched as it lifted into the air. The inertial dampeners that McKay was so proud of must be off line. But they were moving in the direction of the gate.

Ronon stayed to help steady the colonel.

Sheppard opened his eyes at one point to mutter, "Rodney never could fly in a straight line."

Rodney insisted that they stay earthbound when he could because of the damage to the jumper. It took an agonizingly long time, Ronon didn't really know how long, but it seemed like hours.

Once they made it to the gate Rodney settled the jumper back to the ground and powered it down.

"Why did we stop? What are you waiting for?" Ronon snarled when Teyla and Rodney joined them in the back of the jumper. "We need to get him through the gate."

"Oh, I just thought we'd stop and have a picnic," Rodney snapped. He leaned against the door, careful to keep his weight off of his foot. "Why do you think we stopped? There are Wraith out there guarding the gate."

"Ronon," Teyla's voice was sharp, "Rodney, we do not need this now. We need to figure out how we are going to get Colonel Sheppard home."

Ronon bit back his impatience. He knew they all felt the strain as he did. They just didn't have the extra burden of guilt that he carried for having gotten them into this in the first place.

"Hey, it's alright," Sheppard's hand was on his shoulder, "you'll think of something. You guys are a good team. I trust you," he slurred.

Carson must have him on the good drugs, Ronon decided. Sheppard usually didn't share so much.

"Okay, then, so what are we going to do?" He stared at the other three. He wanted nothing more than to go out and kill the Wraith. He didn't think that plan was going to work this time.

Rodney bit back whatever snappish reply he had been going to make, making a visible effort to gather himself.

"Why can we not just dial the gate from the jumper and go through cloaked?" Teyla asked. She studied them each in turn with her calm, serene gaze. Ronon could practically feel her projecting her calm onto all of them.

Rodney opened his mouth to object. "I...." he shut his mouth as he searched for a hole in Teyla's plan.

"It could work," Ronon allowed reluctantly. Somehow he thought it should be harder. He'd spent the day fighting the Wraith, running from them, he wanted to kill these last few while he had the chance. But Sheppard's best chance lay in them getting off Sateda as quickly and with as little fuss as possible. Ronon could fight the Wraith some other day, he decided.

"We could maybe blow up something with a drone to draw them away from the gate, it would help our chances if we don't get shot at anymore," Rodney supplied.

"Whatever you're going to do, do it quickly," Carson said, his voice urgent. "I need to get the colonel home." He wasn't telling them just how bad it was, but they all knew that John Sheppard didn't sleep when there was a fight to be had.

"Let's do it," Ronon declared.

Rodney turned and limped back to the front. Ronon followed him, leaving Teyla to help the doctor with Sheppard. He took the co-pilot's seat while Rodney got the jumper started.

Getting home was almost anti-climatic.

Rodney blew up some trees with a drone. The Wraith ran to investigate. Ronon dialed the DHD and sent their code. Then they were through the gate and home.

Ronon sat, almost unable to process that he was really back in Atlantis. In the back of the jumper the medical team swarmed the colonel.

Teyla joined them after Carson and the medical team left with Sheppard.

"Carson says you both must come to the infirmary, also."

"We'll be right there," Rodney said as he shut down the jumper's systems. "Just give us a minute."

She regarded them steadily for a moment before she nodded and left them alone.

They just sat staring out the windshield. It was cracked and splintered; spitting at it would make it fall out of its frame. Ronon now understood why McKay was so certain the jumper wouldn't have stood up to space travel.

"We did it," McKay said, quiet wonder in his voice.

"Yeah," Ronon agreed.

"So, what do you say? The infirmary?" McKay slid a sideways glance his way, probably trying to judge if he needed to call a medical team.

Ronon shrugged. "Rather go to the mess hall, get something to eat."

Rodney gaped at him, taken aback for all of two seconds, then he said, "I could eat."

~~~~~

Rodney really liked it when the team had downtime. He had enough work and research to do in the city that he could stay busy for the rest of his life. He didn't mind going out on missions, if he told the truth he'd begun to look forward to them, but his heart was still in his work in the city: researching the treasures she offered, working on her systems, finding out what made her tick. They'd been there for over two years now and they still found new things every day.

His teammates were less sanguine about free time. Teyla took the time to visit her people on the mainland. Ronon went back to Sateda a couple of times. He brought back some things for his quarters – colorful throws, a painting that he hung on the wall over his bed that Rodney found both disturbing and compelling, more weapons. Ronon also went on missions with some of the other teams. He told Rodney he didn't like sitting still.

It had been three weeks since they'd returned from Sateda. The first week Sheppard had been drugged to the gills and mostly just slept. At least one member of the team was always at his side. As time went by, and his condition improved, they were pulled away with other things – Rodney had to keep an eye on his minions to make sure they didn't blow up the city, Ronon and Teyla spent a lot of time off-world. It left Sheppard to his own devices once he was awake enough to be restless.

Since he was the one in the city, Rodney got most of the calls when Sheppard was bored and needed someone to entertain him. He went with a minimum of grumbling. Sheppard was his friend, and he enjoyed his company, although he might tell him otherwise. They could spend hours arguing over who was the best villain on Batman or whether a DeLorean really could be a kick-ass time machine. Many times Rodney worked while Sheppard slept. He would ridicule the other man when he woke up for being such a wimp. Secretly Rodney was just as glad to sit at his side while Sheppard slept; he liked to hear the steady rhythm of his breathing, watch as his condition improved.

Rodney wasn't surprised when he finally got The call from Sheppard.

 _"McKay, you have got to get me out of here. I am going insane."_ Sheppard's voice over the radio was tinged with desperation.

Rodney knew he had to act fast or there would be sharp needles and invasive exams in Sheppard's future. You just didn't piss off the infirmary staff. Sheppard was well enough now that the nurses no longer doted on him as they did their checks – fluffing his pillows or sneaking him an extra jello cup. Now they glared at him when they went by or, worse yet, snorted when he tried to persuade them to let him out, "just for a little while."

Rodney began saving and shutting down his work. "I'll be right there," he told Sheppard. "Don't do anything stupid."

 _"Thank you, McKay,"_ Sheppard sounded pathetically grateful.

He tapped his radio on the way out of his lab, "Carson," he said, "I'm on my way."

 _"Aye, thank you, lad. I was thinking of throwing him out myself."_

Rodney chuckled at the weary tone in Carson's voice. He took the opportunity to call Ronon and Teyla and tell them what was happening. Neither of them were unduly surprised.

While Carson swore Sheppard was getting better, the doctor wouldn't let his patient out of the infirmary on his own. He'd insisted on a wheelchair when Sheppard was allowed to the conference room for the debrief on the Sateda mission.

Rodney had savored the sour look on Caldwell's face when he realized that team Sheppard had made it home on their own, without any assistance from the Daedalus.

Carson was waiting for Rodney just outside the infirmary with a wheelchair. "Remember, don't let him overtax himself. Don't keep him out too long, I want him back in time for..."

Rodney commandeered the wheelchair, waving Carson aside. "Yes, yes, mom, I know the rules. I'll have him home before dark."

Carson stood in his way, refusing to let Rodney enter the infirmary until he'd had his say.

"I'm serious, Rodney. The colonel was very seriously injured. He came close to never being able to walk again. If he were back on Earth, he wouldn't. It's only because of the Ancient equipment we've discovered that has helped us heal the damage to his back. We have to go very slowly here. I won't take any chances."

"And neither will I, Carson." Rodney met Carson's eyes, hoping that the doctor could read in his eyes that he was very serious about Sheppard's recovery, too.

Carson nodded at last, stepping aside.

"Don't worry, I won't let him take any moonlight dips in the ocean," Rodney called over his shoulder just to make Carson splutter.

Rodney went immediately to Sheppard's bed; it was set in an alcove to give him a little privacy during his prolonged stay.

"You called?" he announced himself.

Sheppard pushed himself up on his elbows, hissing at Rodney. "Sh... The nurses all left a minute ago and I don't know where Carson went to. Let's get out quick before anyone comes along and stops us." He sat, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

Rodney hurried to help him. Sheppard frowned his displeasure at the necessity, but let Rodney take most of his weight as they transferred him to the wheelchair. He was only just starting to get sensation back in his legs; there was no way he was walking out of the infirmary on his own.

Rodney pulled a blanket over his lap. Sheppard did rebel at that.

"Oh, come on, Rodney, it's warm outside," he threw the blanket back on the bed.

Rodney picked it back up draping it over Sheppard's lap. "And if you catch cold on our little jailbreak, Carson will handcuff you to the bed for the rest of your stay. Do you really want that?"

With a frustrated huff Sheppard allowed Rodney to tuck in the blanket, then he just ignored it, like it wasn't there.

Rodney took them to the West Pier. It was a little further away, but it was the sunniest at this time of day. Besides that Ronon had requested it. Rodney was curious about what he had planned.

It was late afternoon in Atlantis. The sun was dipping toward the horizon when they reached the pier. Teyla and Ronon were already there waiting for them. Teyla had spread a blanket out, along with a basket of food – it looked like enough food to feed the whole expedition, although Rodney did not intend to invite them, this party was just for his team. An it's-good-to-be-alive party.

They helped Sheppard out of the chair and settled him comfortably onto the blanket. He sprawled out with a sigh, all arms and awkward legs. They devoured Teyla's food, they all ate too much and soaked up the sun. They didn't talk much, just enjoyed each other's company.

When the sun was settling into the horizon, sending fingers of gold dancing across the water, Ronon cleared his throat. He ducked his head when they all turned to him expectantly.

"Had something I thought we could do," he said, uncertain for once.

"What is it, big guy?" Sheppard asked. He looked at Rodney and Teyla, but they had to shake their heads, they had no idea what Ronon was up to.

"We had this thing we used to do in Sateda, I told McKay about it. The festival of boats."

They all nodded, they had heard the story at the debrief.

"Well, I've had some time one my hands and so I made us each a boat." He pulled forward a box that had been sitting to the side unnoticed. He pulled the lid off slowly. "I did some research," he smirked at Rodney's raised brow, "and found out about the different kinds of Earth boats." He pulled out the first boat; it was a perfect outrigger, painted white. It had Athos stenciled on the side. He handed it to Teyla.

"Ronon," she turned the boat, admiring it. "I do not know what to say. Thank you."

Ronon shrugged, "It's nothing."

The next boat was more like a sailboat; it even had billowing white sails. It was painted black. The name on the side, in white letters, was Cash.

"I..." John smoothed a finger over the hull. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Ronon said, ducking his head down to hide a pleased grin.

Rodney wouldn't say that he was anxious about his boat, he just wasn't sure Ronon liked him enough to make him one, too. When Ronon pulled the catamaran out and handed it to Rodney, his eyes might have welled up a little.

It was painted grey with Batman painted on the side, again in white letters. Rodney rubbed a hand over his eyes, muttering, "Damn sea air."

Ronon's grin broke out full. He pulled out one more boat. It was a canoe, simple and elegant. It was stained but not painted. It had Sateda stenciled on its side.

"Ronon, these are amazing," Teyla spoke for all of them. Rodney was glad. He wasn't quite sure what to say.

"What are we doing with them?" Sheppard asked.

Ronon took a deep breath. He regarded them all, one by one.

"I wasn't really wasn't sure guys were going to come for me," he said

"Ronon," Sheppard began to protest.

Ronon held up his hand. "I didn't doubt you'd want to, I just didn't think you'd be able to find me."

"Thanks for your lack of faith there," Rodney snarked.

Ronon shrugged, "I know better now. And I thought, now that I had a home and a... new family, I should have a festival of boats. I thought we could send our prayers to the Ancestors."

He indicated a stack of paper that he'd brought with him.

Teyla spoke before Rodney could start into a diatribe on the Ancestors and the chance of them answering any kind of prayers. "We would be honored to join you in this tradition," she said.

Sheppard nodded his agreement. Ronon looked at Rodney. He snorted and nodded his agreement.

Ronon passed out the paper. "I didn't think we would write prayers on them." He gave Rodney a level stare, "I know that the Ancestors don't answer prayers. I thought we could write what we are most thankful for on them."

"That is a lovely idea, Ronon," Teyla said. She bent over her sheet of paper, nibbling on the cap of the pen she held.

John just held his paper, staring out over the water thoughtfully.

The mood was getting altogether too serious. "Well, I hope you all write that you're thankful for my genius," Rodney informed them. "Without me, you'd all be dead by now."

He got the desired snort from Sheppard and a tolerant smile from Teyla. Ronon made a rude noise. Yeah, he was definitely spending too much time with the marines.

Rodney bent to his paper, considering what he was going to write. He leaned over to spy on Sheppard to see that he had written 'team' on his paper. Sheppard saw him looking and pulled it away before he folded it up and put it into his boat.

Teyla wrote 'family' in large blocky letters, she even underlined it. Ronon wrote something in an unfamiliar script. Rodney nodded at it.

"It's Satedan," Ronon said. "It says 'freedom.'

"What are you going to write, McKay?" Sheppard gestured at his still blank paper.

Rodney looked around at the faces of his friends and teammates. He considered how close they had all came to dying, how thankful he was that they hadn't. He bent over his paper and wrote 'being alive.'

He caught Sheppard's eye, he just nodded.

Taking their boats, Ronon knelt at the edge of the pier. He placed each one in the water. They bobbed gently with the waves, moving further away from the pier with each wave they rode. The sails on Sheppard's sailboat caught the wind and it surged ahead of the others.

They didn't have many days like this where they weren't running for their lives or trying to avert the next disaster. Rodney thought they'd earned it this time. He didn't mention that it was probably time for them to take Sheppard back to the infirmary. Carson knew where they were. He was just going to sit and enjoy the sun and the water and the company of his friends for just a little while longer.

  


**Author's Note:**

> With thanks to my beta, Chocolatephysicist. You always makes my fics better. Any mistakes remaining are my own, because I can never leave the story alone after she's done.


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